When I was a little girl, tea parties with my stuffed animals and friends were among my favorite things to do. However, just because I am older now doesn’t mean that I have to say good-bye to this beloved pastime, and neither do you! I recently decided to plan a tea party for my best friend’s birthday, so I saw it as a perfect idea to share with all you lovely Lulus ladies!

Tea parties are especially fun because they can be thrown anytime, day or night. Since Victorian times, tea parties have been a social activity where women could get away from their husbands and joke and laugh. An excuse to get away with the girls? Sign me up!

Here is how to throw the perfect tea party for you and your girls to enjoy:

Theme: Themes are essential to any party planning. For a tea party, you can choose anything from a high-society theme, where everyone has to be dressed up and wearing hats and gloves, or a garden theme! The theme I will be outlining for you is a Mad Hatter Tea Party since I am utterly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland!

Location: Tea parties can be either indoors or outside, but I prefer mine to be located in gardens or parks. Personally, I think Mother Nature should always make an appearance at any party.

Decorations: For the Alice in Wonderland theme, I decided on stringing playing cards together and hanging them on the wall. Also, I baked goodies and wrote “Eat Me” in icing and “Drink Me” on all of the tea cups. You can also put some cute little candles and fresh flowers on the table for ambiance. An imporant tip when decorating is to not overdo the table, as you don’t want it to look cluttered and messy!

Invitations: One of my favorite techniques for making any kind of card is to decoupage them. You can use different kinds of paper and stickers to create your very own invitations. I like the idea below, which uses a fake tea bag that actually detaches from the invitation!

Place Settings: A pretty table cloth is essential for making your table look preciously put together. Of course, you should not forget your tea set. The tea pot should be the focal point of the table, since it is a party devoted to tea. Also, placecards are a great touch to the table so that everyone knows where they are sitting, thereby avoiding all that awkward shuffling around. You can make these yourself, or you can type them up and print them so that they are neat and professional-looking. Finish the table off with platters of food, utensils, and little plates. Don’t forget cute napkins so no one gets their sticky little paws all over the tea pot!

Sweets: Sweets are the typical treat served at any tea party. Some suggestions are cookies, cupcakes, muffins, scones, or brownies. Don’t think that you can’t add a modern spin to your party, however; go ahead and serve sushi, sandwiches, or whatever suits your fancy!